Managing Extreme Weather at Bus Stops (2017)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

65 The following agencies responded that they have written policies regarding snow removal at bus stops and share them publicly. 1. Intercity Transit, Walla Walla—ice and snow removal policy can be found in their website at: http:// www.wallawallawa.gov/depts/publicworks/streets/snow-icecontrol It states: The Street Division diligently follows weather reports, monitors our weather stations and road conditions, and prepares for and is on the ready for weather events. Often City crews get started in the early hours to eliminate commuting hazards or mitigate very snowy or icy conditions. In the event of snowfall where plow- ing is required, the City has five dump trucks with plows, two of which are equipped with sand spreaders. The City also utilizes a road grader for plowing. The City Street crew generally begins plowing when • Snow reaches about four inches deep and the forecast is for continued snowfall. • Moisture content of snow is a factor. “Dry,” light snow is less of an issue than “wet,” heavy snow. • The crew plows priority routes first to keep arterials and emergency service routes open. • Once the priority routes are cleared of snow the crews begin plowing residential streets. View Snow Removal Priority Map A few pointers for homeowners when snow falls: • Give plenty of room to snow plows and sanders—these vehicles make frequent stops, turns, and back-ups. • Park cars off the street where possible to avoid being plowed in. This also allows the plow to place the snow next to the curb. • Keep the sidewalks in front of your home free from snow and ice. • Keep a clear path to your mail box. • Help your neighbor with snow removal from their driveway and sidewalk. • Some local organizations have volunteers who are willing to assist the elderly or handicapped with snow removal. Please call the Street Division at XXX-XXX-XXXX if you would like to be added to the volunteer list. A document listing individuals and agencies that can assist property owners who are unable to remove the snow from their property is available here. 2. Lane Transit—Snow Removal Plan at LTD Stations The purpose of snow removal at LTD facilities is to protect District employees and customers from unsafe conditions due to ice and snow and to ensure free vehicle movement on LTD property. The primary focus for snow removal at all facilities will be walkways to ensure that employees and customers can safely navigate the lots, boarding platforms, and walkways. At locations with large plat- form areas, such as the Eugene Station and Springfield Station, the concentration of volunteers for snow removal will ensure that customers can get to and from the buses and from bay to bay. The Glenwood snow removal will concentrate on sidewalks around the building and ensure that there are cleared walkways to the bus lot and the employee parking lot. Listed below are the staff who have volunteered to help with snow removal at the various stations and at the Customer Service Center with phone coverage. There are additional people we can call upon if neces- sary to cover Glenwood and the other stations, or it may mean that a crew at the smaller stations will do double duty. We will have to play it by ear. If helpers will be out of town, they need to inform XXXX in advance. APPENDIX C Ice and Snow Removal Policies—Samples

66 The (*) symbol by a station indicates that supplies are in a storage area. Shovels, deicer, cones, safety vests, and applicators for the deicer will be stored on the premises at those locations. Volunteers will be issued a key to all of the storage areas. For those assigned to stations without storage, Facilities Main- tenance staff will give each team member a shovel and other supplies mentioned in the previous section. XXXX will make the determination that snow removal is necessary and will call XXXX, who will call each person on the snow removal list. XXXX will contact the Customer Service volunteers as needed. XXXX names and phone numbers EmX Stations—EmX Stations will be maintained by Facilities staff and privately contracted shelter cleaners. Eugene Station*—XXXX Lane Community College LCC—will provide its own snow/ice removal. UO Station North & South UO—will provide its own snow/ice removal. Valley River Center VRC—will provide its own snow/ice removal. VOLUNTEERS FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER PHONE COVERAGE: XXXX Snow and Ice Procedures for the Use of the Following Equipment: Rock spreader Snow blower I Snow blower II Snow plow Note: Employees must be trained on the use of the equipment before they use it. The graveyard super- visor will plow the bus yard as needed before the call goes out for snow volunteers. This will allow the buses to move around the yard and travel out of the gate. Plowing the bus lot is relatively easy; simply push the snow out of the way. (You can move the snow over to the curb on the south side of the lot.) 3. Los Alamos County—Snow and Ice Control Plan Transit Division The normal snow and ice control operations will provide for the snow removal services along existing public transit routes (roadways and sidewalks) in accordance with the Plan’s priority schedule (page 20). These services will include the use of snow plows, sanding, salt, and deicers, as well as other heavy equip- ment as needed. Transit employees will be activated as needed to perform the hand clearing of snow and ice from the bus shelters, access directly to the shelters from the longitudinal sidewalks, and areas around bus stops as time allows. 4. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) The 2015–2016 Snow & Ice Operations Plan can be found at: http://www.mbta.com/winter/bus_status/ The website states: Winter Weather—Bus Stop Clearing and Snow Removal As snow begins to fall, riders can depend on the MBTA to be ready. The MBTA is determined and pre- pared to provide its riders with clear and accessible bus stops during the winter months. Added resources and equipment help the MBTA work through harsh weather conditions and riders will experience snow removal improvements as they commute through the Commonwealth. The MBTA will prioritize the clear- ing of snow and ice from bus stops along its Fifteen Key Bus Routes. What the MBTA Clears The MBTA will clear snow from all MBTA-owned bus shelters and stops along the following key routes: 1, 15, 22, 23, 28, 32, 39, 57, 66, 71, 73, 77, 111, 116, 117. For a full list of MBTA-owned bus shelters cleared by the MBTA, please click here.

67 Other Stops Virtually all other bus stops are the property owner/abutter’s responsibility. The municipality in which the bus stop is located may have the ability to enforce snow removal, depending on the local ordinance. If you notice one of these stops is obstructed by snow/ice, refer to this municipality contact list to find the contact information for the department that may be able to help resolve the problem. When will bus stops be cleared? The MBTA’s goal is to clear all MBTA-owned bus shelters and stops along its key routes listed above within twenty-four hours of the end of a snowstorm. All MBTA-owned bus shelters and stops will be cleared as quickly as possible. How do I know if my stop has been cleared? Following winter storms, the MBTA will post updates on bus stop clearing status of bus stops along the Fifteen Key Bus Routes within the table below. Who to Contact To report a bus stop that has not been cleared, please call the MBTA’s Customer Care Department at 617.222.3200/(TTY) 617.222.5146 with the route and intersection for the stop that needs to be cleared. You can also e-mail this information to snowandice@mbta.com. 5. MTA New York City Transit City Dept. of Sanitation is responsible for clearing bus routes and the interior of bus shelters. City Dept. of Transportation is responsible for clearing around the shelter and in some cases creating a path to the bus stop/shelter. Depending on the location, City Dept. of Parks or even private companies may be responsible as well. MTA will in some cases help clear bus stops/shelter, even though we do not have responsibility for clearing shelters. 6. City of Toronto The City of Toronto’s Winter Operations Program keeps roads and sidewalks safe and passable for pedes- trians, cyclists, and motorists. 24-hour patrols continuously check road conditions and staff monitor weather forecasts and pavement temperature. Even before the snow starts to fall, our crews swing into action and they work continuously until the storm is over. Levels of Service for Winter Maintenance Activities. The maintenance of a safe and reliable municipal transportation system is based on three main elements: de-icing, snow ploughing, and snow removal. The selection of the most appropriate method of dealing with a particular winter storm is principally based on the amount of accumulated snowfall and prevailing temperatures. Based on these, the selected method offers a balance between the clearing and/or removal of the accumulated snow and ice at an appropriately determined pace in a fiscally responsible manner. In addition to these major winter service operations, work crews ensure that catch-basins, drains, and culverts work properly and that crosswalks, bus stops, and sidewalks for senior citizens and people with physical disabilities are also cleared of snow and ice. The effective deployment of these winter service operations makes it possible for emergency vehicles and the public to travel safely, for the transit system to provide the public with timely service and for commerce to continue functioning. http://www1.toronto.ca/ wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=e33422cdac873410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnext channel=cd3d4074781e1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD 7. One of the transit agencies has a policy in writing that they do NOT clear bus stops during storms because of liability issues resulting from falls.

Abbreviations and acronyms used without definitions in TRB publications: A4A Airlines for America AAAE American Association of Airport Executives AASHO American Association of State Highway Officials AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ACI–NA Airports Council International–North America ACRP Airport Cooperative Research Program ADA Americans with Disabilities Act APTA American Public Transportation Association ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATA American Trucking Associations CTAA Community Transportation Association of America CTBSSP Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program DHS Department of Homeland Security DOE Department of Energy EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration FAST Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (2015) FHWA Federal Highway Administration FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration HMCRP Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (2012) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials NCFRP National Cooperative Freight Research Program NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NTSB National Transportation Safety Board PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration RITA Research and Innovative Technology Administration SAE Society of Automotive Engineers SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (2005) TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program TDC Transit Development Corporation TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (1998) TRB Transportation Research Board TSA Transportation Security Administration U.S.DOT United States Department of Transportation

NO N-PRO FIT O RG . U.S. PO STAG E PA ID CO LUM BIA, M D PER M IT NO . 88 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 5 0 0 F ifth S tre e t, N W W a s h in g to n , D C 2 0 0 0 1 A D D R ESS SER VICE R EQ UESTED M anaging Extrem e W eather at Bus Stops TCRP Synthesis 129 TRB ISBN 978-0-309-39000-2 9 7 8 0 3 0 9 3 9 0 0 0 2 9 0 0 0 0